On the 5th, the US government announced economic sanctions against four judges of the International Criminal Court on grounds of the court's investigation into US personnel and issuing arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defense Minister.
The US Treasury Department issued a press release stating that the four judges are from Uganda, Peru, Benin, and Slovenia. Two of them were sanctioned for ruling to authorize the International Criminal Court to investigate US personnel in Afghanistan, while the other two were sanctioned for ruling to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Galant.
The press release stated, "The International Criminal Court is politicized and abuses its power," and that the US's sanctions are aimed at making individuals directly involved in the actions against the US and Israel face "real and substantial" consequences.
The US State Department simultaneously released a press statement indicating that the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court. Thus, the Court has no authority to investigate, charge, or prosecute US and its ally nationals, and such actions "infringe upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and its allies, including Israel."
In September 2020, the US had imposed sanctions on two senior officials of the International Criminal Court for approving an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by US military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan. The International Criminal Court criticized the sanctions, stating that they attempted to interfere with the court's judicial independence and posed a serious attack on the international criminal justice system and rule of law under the Rome Statute.